by Beth Kassab | Sep 15, 2023 | City Commission, News, Zoning and Development
Vision dashed? Bank enters contract to sell land that city wanted for park
Commissioner Marty Sullivan urged the city to make another unsolicited offer to buy the property, but hopes for a deal dimmed
Sept. 15, 2023
By Beth Kassab
After a contentious public meeting over how — or even if — the city should acquire 2 acres on Orange Avenue to expand Seven Oaks Park, Friday brought what appeared to be a final blow to any last hopes for a deal: the broker the landowner Bank OZK said the property is under contract with another buyer.
City Manager Randy Knight let Commissioners know the news Friday afternoon, just one day after the city sent another unsolicited offer to the Arkansas-based bank previously known as Bank of the Ozarks to purchase the vacant property for about $6 million.
That offer was the result of a 3-2 vote on Wednesday night to, for a third time, attempt to purchase the property after the city learned on Monday that the bank accepted an offer from an unknown buyer. Mayor Phil Anderson and Commissioner Kris Cruzada voted against the offer.
Commissioner Marty Sullivan, who tried to insert money for the purchase in next year’s city budget, but withdrew that motion for lack of enough support. Sullivan said he wanted to call the vote to demonstrate to the bank that commissioners weren’t “dragging our feet” over the acquisition. In public meetings there was a lack of unanimous support to spend contingency funds or issue bonds to finance the purchase.
Sullivan said he supported the citizens who “took the long view” of what the property could mean decades from now: a more connected series of green spaces from Mead Botanical Gardens to the Winter Park Tennis Center to Seven Oaks, which is still under construction along Orange Avue.
For some in the city, including supporters of the private Winter Park Land Trust, which offered $500,000 toward the deal, the bank’s parcel represented a vision to maintain Winter Park’s small urban village charm and would have preserved a slice of increasingly scarce undeveloped land in a busy business corridor.
“I’d like to see Orange Avenue become more like Park Avenue rather than become more like U.S. Highway 17-92,” said Brad Blum, a member of the land trust and former chief executive officer of Olive Garden and Burger King, who attended the meeting.
But the practical implications of a more than $6 million purchase during a year with a number of competing priorities for a piece of the city’s $208 million budget were too difficult to overcome for Anderson and Cruzada.
“I’m not about to put up money when we don’t even know where it’s going to come from and burden residents,” Cruzada said.
Anderson said floating $4.5 million in bonds, the difference after taking about $1 million from the city’s parks acquisition fund and $500,000 from the Land Trust, made the most sense, but he said other priorities such as new fire stations and flood control improvements are more pressing needs.
“I’m just not feeling or hearing the grassroots support demanding that this is the best use for city funds,” he said.
Vice Mayor Sheila DeCiccio said she supported the idea of buying the property to preserve as greenspace, but no longer felt the bank was dealing with the city in good faith. For that reason, she did not support Sullivan’s motion on Wednesday to add the bank property to the city budget, which left Commissioner Todd Weaver as the only likely “yes” vote in addition to Sullivan. As a result, Sullivan withdrew that motion.
“This is the third time the bank has pulled the rug out from under the city,” she said. “They have not dealt with us in good faith and have played us to get another offer.”
The bank did not respond to a call for comment.
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by Beth Kassab | Sep 11, 2023 | City Commission, News, Uncategorized
Bank OZK tells city it will sell to another buyer
Commissioners and greenspace advocates had rallied to purchase the parcel on Orange Avenue to expand Seven Oaks Park
Sept. 11, 2023
By Beth Kassab
City Manager Randy Knight notified commissioners today that the owners of a 2-acre piece of land the city wants to buy to expand Seven Oaks park on Orange Avenue have accepted an offer from another buyer, according to an email obtained by the Voice.
Knight and City Spokeswoman Clarissa Howard did not return a request for comment.
Knight wrote that a broker for Bank OZK (formerly Bank of the Ozarks) told him “the Bank has accepted an offer from another party that met their price and has a more streamlined path to approvals and closing,” according to the email.
Commissioner Marty Sullivan, who had led the charge for the city to acquire the property, said it appears likely the vacant land will be developed into a commercial building, though the identity of the other buyer isn’t known.
“I’m extremely disappointed that Bank OZK did not ask us for a counteroffer,” Sullivan said.
Commissioners are set on Wednesday to take the first of two votes on the city’s more than $200 million budget for next year and are expected to discuss the purchase of the parcel and how to finance a deal.
Sullivan said the city’s lack of firm commitment to the deal could have influenced the bank to pursue another offer and wants a vote taken on Wednesday.
“If we can commit, it opens the possibility of the bank reconsidering,” he said.
In the latest round of negotiations, the city offered $6 million for the land appraised at $5.8 million and said it would waive more than $130,000 worth of mobility fees. The bank’s broker presented a counteroffer that included the $6 million sales price plus a waiver for $267,000 worth of transportation impact fees and the city would pay about $60,000 in doc stamp and title fees.
That offer was contingent on approval by the Bank OZK executive team and the city was still waiting to hear back when Knight was informed Monday that the bank accepted another buyer.
A call to the bank’s spokeswoman was not immediately returned.
The Winter Park Land Trust, which advocates for the preservation of greenspace, pledged at least $500,000 from board members toward the project.
Steve Goldman, chairman of the land trust’s board, also expressed disappointment over the loss of potential open space in an increasingly dense corridor.
“The job of the land trust is to look forward — not to just be concerned with our immediate needs — but to look out over the next few decades for a good city plan that balances park land against urban development,” said Goldman, who is also a supporter of the Winter Park Voice. “It’s very clear to everyone who studied this that we are going to need more park space if we are going to retain the feeling we currently have in Winter Park, which is the reason many of us moved here.”
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by Beth Kassab | Sep 9, 2023 | City Commission, News
New renderings show glimpse of Winter Park's future
The side-by-side comparison shows what the major corridor would look like with new park space vs. the pad of a building and parking lot
Sept. 9, 2023
By Beth Kassab
A new set of renderings commissioned by the Winter Park Land Trust juxtaposes two potential futures of a stretch of the city’s busy business corridor. One image shows a bank-owned parcel converted to green space to enlarge Seven Oaks Park. The other shows the pad of a commercial building and surrounding parking lot.
For advocates of preserving and growing green space amid an increasingly urban region, the choice could not be more clear.
“What’s right for the city residents 10 years from now, 30 years from now, 50 years from now – when many of us will be gone – is at stake here,” said Brad Blum, a Winter Park resident who served as chief executive officer of multiple major restaurant brands such as Olive Garden and Brio and is a member of the Winter Park Land Trust board. “The city has an important decision to make. An expanded and robust green space or a multi-story commercial building that will divide its current and limited green spaces.”
The Land Trust has pledged at least $500,000 to help the city purchase the parcel owned by the Arkansas-based Bank OZK (formerly known as Bank of the Ozarks) to enlarge Seven Oaks Park at the corner of Orange Avenue and Denning Drive. The total purchase price is about $6 million. The sale to the city is part of a deal in which the bank would build a branch at the mixed-use Ravaudage development instead.
In addition to a $1 million private contribution from sources including the Land Trust, the city has about $1 million in its parks acquisition fund. That leaves about $4 million that must be financed by the city in order to get the deal done, according to a budget memorandum by city staff that expressed some concern about the feasibility of the plan.
“Staff estimates that the city could borrow at a rate of about 4.5%, and over 15 years that would approximate $372k in annual debt service payments,” the memo says. “While this number is within the General Fund’s current contingency balance estimated for FY24, it may be difficult to sustain over the longer term as revenue growth rates dim and expenditures driven by pension, healthcare, and lingering inflation costs, put pressure on budgets.”
Staff noted that debt service payments could increase to more than $500,000 per year if the cost of improving the land is also financed. It’s possible though, staff pointed out, that city commissioners could opt to pay for the purchase out of the general fund’s reserve dollars or sell other assets such as the old Winter Park Library or other land to generate money for the expanded park.
An aerial rendering of the Bank OZK property converted to park space adjoining Seven Oaks Park.
An aerial rendering of the property today at the corner of Orange Avenue and Denning Drive.
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by Beth Kassab | Sep 9, 2023 | City Commission, News
Commissioners to take first vote this week on new Winter Park budget
The more than $200 million proposed budget includes changes to address commission priorities
Sept. 9, 2023
By Beth Kassab
City Commissioners will vote Wednesday on the more than $200 million city budget and settle some key questions such as how much to set aside for flood prevention, whether the Winter Park Library will have enough money to open on Sundays, and if the city will acquire a bank-owned parcel to expand Seven Oaks Park.
A budget memorandum prepared by city staff notes changes made to the proposal in recent weeks, which now contains a contingency fund of nearly $700,000 as a result of revised revenue estimates from the state. Changes include:
- An additional $350,000 for the Winter Park Library, which will allow expanded hours and programming, including on Sundays. The money will come from the Community Redevelopment Agency’s budget and is planned to continue on an annual basis.
- At least $1.5 million is set aside, also from the CRA budget, for stormwater improvements such as flood prevention on the city’s west side, which makes up the CRA.
- $200,000 will go toward projects that are part of the Transportation Master Plan.
- $150,000 in the general fund is set aside as a potential matching grant for the Mead Garden Trails project.
- About $150,000 will be devoted from the general fund to create a new construction manager position within Public Works.
- About $113,000 will be devoted to a new community services officer civilian role for Winter Park Police.
- About $1 million over two years to make improvements to Aloma Avenue and S.R. 426 as part of the Fix 426 initiative. Staff noted that more funds may be needed, but that the nearly $700,000 in contingency funds as well as $19 million in the city’s reserve funds could serve as bridge funding.
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by Beth Kassab | Sep 2, 2023 | City Commission, News, Uncategorized
Former Mayor Joe Terranova remembered for service and mentorship
Current commissioners say they will miss his wise counsel and humor
Sept. 2, 2023
By Anne Mooney
Winter Park lost a leader and a friend this week. Former Mayor Joe Terranova, who was known as a champion for the city’s charm and status as a “premier urban village” died Monday. He was 98.
Terranova, who served as mayor from 1997 to 2000, was also a driving force behind the Center for Independent Living, a Winter Park-based nonprofit that promotes inclusion and accessibility for people with disabilities and served on the committee that helped create the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, a cultural centerpiece of the city.
“Joe was a valuable counselor to all of us who serve the city,” said Mayor Phil Anderson. “He had a zest for living that took him around the globe serving his country and brought him back to Winter Park to serve his community. I will remember Joe’s smile and his understanding that the government is there to serve its citizens.”
He was a past president of the University Club and chaired the ad hoc committee responsible for extensive renovations to the Club and was a member of the Winter Park Historical Association and the Winter Park Library Board of Trustees.
Terranova was also an active member of St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church.
Commissioner Kris Cruzada recalled that he met the former mayor while he was campaigning for his own seat.
“He was a very dynamic and accomplished individual,” Cruzada said. “He’s the one who introduced me to Winter Park’s vision of being the premier urban village for our region – a concept I always felt while growing up in Central Florida, but was never able to articulate until he mentioned it to me.”
Commissioner Todd Weaver also met Terranova while campaigning and said he possessed a rare combination listening skills and the ability to dole out sage advice.
“We became instant friends,” Weaver recalled. “I don’t know many people who are as wise as Joe, or who can deliver a short answer with such humor and friendliness.”
Terranova grew up in the Washington, D.C. area. After completing high school, he went into the Army during World War II. He was stationed in Europe, where he served in the 14th Armored Division, 25th Tank Battalion.
He returned to Washington in 1948 and entered Benjamin Franklin University to study accounting. In order to take the CPA exam, however, he found it necessary to transfer to George Washington University where he studied economics and successfully completed the CPA exam.
After graduation, Terranova worked at a couple of private CPA firms in D.C., but said he found the work dull. When the opportunity to join the Foreign Service presented itself, he jumped at it and thus began a distinguished career in the service of his country, according to his own account from a 1992 interview by the Winter Park History Museum.
His assignments took him all over the world. He went from Libera to Spain to Yugoslavia and back to Washington, D.C. The State Department had formed an audit team, and since Terranova was one of the few foreign service officers who was a CPA, he was asked to join.
After four years in D.C. he was back overseas, this time in Pakistan and from there to Paris. Asked during the museum’s interview what he liked best about Paris, Joe replied, “. . . I like to eat . . . and there is no greater place to be than Paris because that really is the capital of food as far as I’m concerned. There is no city or no country that has such an exquisite choice of food . . . and I took full advantage of it.”
The year was 1965, so it was not long before Terranova had to abandon his beloved Paris for a post in the American Embassy in Vietnam. Of his tour in Vietnam, Joe remarked, “Well, it was a most unusual way to conduct a civilian operation . . . while you’re fighting a full-blown war.”
He returned to the states for a sabbatical at the Navy War College in Newport, R.I. Toward the end of his tour there, he received a call from a friend asking if he wanted to return to Paris. “Well, I thought about that for about one-tenth of a second,” said Joe, “and said Yes! Back to the food!”
Terranova’s last assignment before he retired was at the Foreign Service Institute, an in-house training department for the State Department.
As he neared retirement, Joe and his wife decided they would like to end up in Florida. A close friend recommended Winter Park, and in 1981, the Terranovas came to Winter Park.
“Joe will be remembered for his service as mayor, his good humor, his willingness to listen, his time as a mentor and his warm and enduring smile,” said Vice Mayor Sheila DeCiccio. “He will be missed, but not forgotten.”
Special thanks to the Winter Park History Museum for access to the transcript of an oral interview with Joe Terranova from Sept. 27, 1992.
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